Turbine diaphragm



oct. 21, 1952 J, L. RAY 2,614,870

TURBINE DIAPHRAGM Filed Oct. 5l, 1946 ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 21, 1952lUNIL'ItllD "()fliFlCE Y 2,614,870 f TURBINE DIAPHRAGM `:FrancesiL."Rayg*Loing` Beach," Calif., assignorA to A1lis"Glialme'r`sManufacturing CompanyiMili watikee; Wist; a corporation of `Delaware...Application catcher. 31, 19.46, serial No. @masas ffrrolaims. 1

This invention relatesto meansproviding a ldiaphragm `ina -turbineconstructed r.and `arranged `for operation by elasticllidand especiallyin a Iturbine Wherethe.operating` fluid isrtilized at high temperatures.Theinvention, is adapted to be embodied in.a gas turbine,andflmore-specifical1y,`the invention 'relates toi'diaphragm means inwhich is embodied sealing means.' between the diaphragm means properandthe",turbineshaft. The principal lobject of the" invention is to;proide new and improved 'diaphragm means 'of .thesetypea t "The usualsteam turbine practice "offsupporting" diaphragmV seal 'ring" meansby4means 'of .,springs, the construction:and/arrangement being such astopermit the sealring meansto deflect when contacted by the'shaft;cannot'beused in gas' turbinesbecause the` springs relax "at thehightemperatures prevailing. "'Itis` an lobject of the" invention to'provide new and "improved diaphragm means comprising sealIring-"'.ineans Vwhich will obviate"this"dfficulty.

i A more" specific object of theV inventionl is the provision cinewandiimproved diaphrgammeans comprising sealring means" in which'thefseal ring means' is resilientlybiased towarditheishaft and willAresilientiy yield and"deflect'*whencontacted 'by the shaft;`'andfwherein vfthe resilience is un- "affected" by the high"temperatures prevailing.

t A stillmore specific objectbf'theinvention is "the provisionofk newand improved; diaphragm I means comprising vseal ringfmeansi in'yvhichthe "resilience of an elastici 'ludor-gas"is'lutilized to provide thedesired'resilient'biasing -and'yielding effect. y

Other objects `will app'earbhereinafterl asff the ydescription of" the*invention' proceeds. r

" the objects are I attained -willappearlirom this specification and theaccompanying drawing r shovvi-ngi vseveral embodiments zth'ereoffandf:forming a partof .this application, :and iall these :novel Lfeaturesarey intendedicto- `:be ipointed-'iout :inf .the

lcl'aims.

11n the, drawing, Fig." l1'istam'enlarged.` longirftudinal sectional1view, .on` theV line 1 I-,f-Ir of Fig.

2 looking 2in the'direction'of the..arrows,.show.mg a fragment of.4 a'half-section.. :oi-aigasr I turbine I embody-ing` `the invention;

. Fig. 3V 's a longitudinal sectional.` view, on an in the embodiment ofFigS- 1 amig;` .r

y(onzas-fio) ,1,2 y e Eig.l` 4 is a fragmentary sectional Vview takenonthe,` line IV-f-.IVnof Fig. ,3, lookngin the` direc- ...tion .of therarrows;

frFig, 5. is a `fragmentary radial sectionahview` n of. a, detailillustrating another embodiment; and

Fig. 6` is.. a: `fragmentary sectional View taken ...onkthe lineVI--VLof` Eig. 5looking inthe direction of thefarrows.

1. I'Ihelturbinc illustrated comprisesa` stator and it ai rotor. `Thestator. includes ,any cylinder. creasing aII) surroundingrthe rotor.`iAs shownlinnFig2 the casing I0 is made in segmental halves havingfastened togethergby@boltsnot shown) .,or in l any ,suitablet way. .Therotor@ includes, a. spindle ...or shaitl. .'IllienshaftI.3` is `hereshown as carry- .ing wheels; I,4.I5.each.offwhichis provided. atitsouter periphery y:with` a setofiradially :extending.circumferentiallwspaced Yvaries or. blades I 6, I 1.,.@Disposedtbetweenthe wheels.l 4, .I5 and.sup

` ,.-portedacross.thegspacebetween theshaftflland ``the stator casingillisudia-phragm means. .The Q I diaphragm, meansif is, hererzvshdwnrascomprising a 4 single ringfmeans l Which,.`.sirnilarly` toKA the casingI0, may be made in segmental halves fastened .-togethemn any Lsuitableway. ,interposed `in and I. form-ing amaraof :the .ringgmeans. I8,are aplura-lity ofrblades I3 providinglnozzles .forwdirect @ingifg'asaagainstvthe;iblades I 1 iof .ther-wheel I5. l .Ehering meanstIShere;showntashaving :its enten,annulartperipheryfccnsltucted:and ar-:tranged: forlost.fnrlotion` connection with therzsta- I -I tomto permitexpansionsand;contraction ,offthe being adapted to nt slidably in anannular recess y nsthefnormal .position ofathea axisrofnthershat I I 3-Ifiperipheryiisafrsealcring` .I means 1:.2 where-s shown '-tseeFig.`v 2)ascomprising.;four` arcuatesegments "1225239242 25;eachf'ofuapproxmately.90% ,Itfwill A be Aunderstood that the number ofasegxnentsamay lbe aAdesired:suitable :numberfotherfxthanbfour.

"f Each segmenti 2 24F- 2 5 ist provided.; with. a: I desired numberlofaxiallywspacedl,` arcuate rVazshaped projections26cthepoints-Fofwhicharecooperable with annular projections* 21w'on :the `shaftrnltrto preventvpassage lkoffegas, `'ati `theshaft,l from one t as will lbeunderstoodfby `those' skilledinl the4 art. Each segment`i22-^2`5innere-shown as having a cover.

355 through the tube 40, the tube being sealed I `by welding 42,'whenthe gas pressure within the bellows is at a desired selected value. Thusthe gagement `with the radially inner surfaces of the recesses 32,y 33;,the points of the V-shaped proyjections 23 are in the desired closejuxtaposition with the annular projections 2l. Also, in this position ofthe parts a desired suitable clearance.

exists between the radially outer surface of the flanges .33, 3l and theradially outer surfaces of the recesses. 32, 33. Each segment22--25 isresiliently, yieldably held in the desired position by biasing meanswhich, in this instance, includes two elements for each segment,cooperable with r`circmnferentially spaced portions of the respec- 'tivesegment. vReferring to segment 22 by-way l of example, this segment isbiased by two elements 3l,'35, and as seen in Fig. 2, one of the biasingelements 34 is here shown aspositioned to act against the segment 22 ator near one end thereof and the other element 35 is posi--l tioned toact against the segment 22 at or near the other end thereof. Thesegment23 is simivlarly biased by elements 34a, 35a., the remaining vsegmentsbeing similarly biased by pairs of elements.

the head 44 and the adjacent under side of the cover 31 to permitcompression of the element as will appear.

The elements 34, 35, and so on, are freely disposed in recessesextending radially into the ring means I8. One of these recesses, 4l, isshown in section in Fig. 1. The construction and arrangement is suchthat the cover 31 engages the `end f the recess 47 and the cover 38engages the radially outer surface of the seal ring means 22. As herevshown a small radially extending recess 48 is provided to accommodatethe free end of the tube 40. l

rIt'will rbe understood that the elements 34, 35 may be placed in therespective recesses 41 and the flanges 3| of the segment 22, forexample, inserted into the annular recesses 32, 33 by circumferentialmovement. If desired, recesses 41a,

Referring now to l'ig. 3 which shows one of the biasing elements indetail, the element 34 is in the nature of a capsule and comprises abel- "lows 3E made of suitable metallic material or `other suitable heatresistant material.

The bellows 33 is conveniently made of generally cylin- 'dr'ical formand provided Vwith generally disk- 'form end covers 3l, 38. The ends ofthe bellows '36 are welded or otherwise suitably fastened, gas tight, tothe covers 3l, 33, the covers being here shown asprovided withannularflanges 39 which are recessed to accommodate the 'ends of thebellows.

The cover 31 is here shown as provided with a gas inlet tube 4B weldedat 4|, or otherwise suitably fastened, gas tight, in an aperture in theGas may be introduced into the bellows `is here` shown as comprising arod 43 which may be 'welded to an inside surface of the cover 38, therod being provided with a head 44 engageable with projections 45,46'extending radially inward from the end of a flange extending axiallyfrom theiinside of the cover 37. VThe head 44 and projections 45, may beso formed that these parts may be readily assembled, the head being hereshown as constructedv and arranged so that it will pass through a gapbetween the projections, the parts being then turned 90 to the positionshown in Fig. 4, before the bellows 36 is welded to the cover 3l or thecover 38.,

Desirably, a suitable clearance exists between `the under surface ofthehead 44 and the adjaance also exists between the upper surface ofcorresponding to recesses 4l, may be made axially accessible by formingthem with an aperture 49 extending axially into a face of ring meansy|8a as shown in Fig. 6, the ring means |8a corresponding toring meansI6. A seal ring segment 22a and a biasing element 34d may then beassembled sidewise with the ring means |8a, and held in position by aplate 5|] fastenable by screws 5| to the ring means laa, the plate 5Ghaving an annular recess 33a corresponding to the annular recess 33 ofFig. 1, and being here shown as having an annular axially extendingflange 52 cooperating with an annular recess in the ring means limi.Y

It will be evident that the elements 34, 35 and so 'on will resilientlybias the seal ring means 2| toward the shaft I3 and one or more of theelements will resiliently yield to' permit radial local movement ordeflection of the seal ring means in accordance with the particularradial direction and amount of movement of the shaft I3. The clearancebetween the head 44 and the adjacent inner surface of the cover 31, andthe clearance between the radially outer surfaces of the flanges 33, 3|and the radially outer surfaces of the recesses` 32, 33, are madesufficient to allow for the maximum anticipated movement of the sealringmeans 2| by reason of radial movement of the shaft |3. It will alsobe evident that the biasing force provided by the biasing elements 34,35 and so on will not be lessened under high temperature conditions.

Desirably, butv not essentially, a small hole 54 (Fig. l) is provided,this hole'placing the recess ll'l in communication with the upstreamside of the diaphragm means. This is to assure that the external fluidpressure on the bellows 36 is the same as that atthe upstream side ofthe diaphragm means. It will'be understood that a similar hole -54 maybe provided for each recess 4l. The hole 54a, Fig. 5, corresponds to thehole 54.

From the foregoing it will be apparent to those skilled in the art thatthe illustrated embodiments of the invention provide new and improvedturbine diaphragms and accordingly accomplish the objects of theinvention. On the other hand,

yit will also be obvious to those skilled in the art Ythat theillustrated embodiments ofthe invenkwithout departing from the spirit ofthe invention, or sacrificing all of the advantages thereof,

`and that, accordingly, the disclosed embodiments are illustrative only,and the inventionjis not limited thereto. 1

permitting relative said receptacle being Anient of said 'receptac"structed and `arranged.f for' operation by Hiiuid,` `confprisingprimary diaphragm me lost motion connection means be t adelmysm tween;one of saidpartshaying" t" cess theopeingofwhichfac A of said parts;Aand resilientm ns fa bia ng said parts radially away from biasing meansincluding 'atie Ically sealed recepta i i t t i. i l i ,i gl i tiveradial movement of `at least a -portion of said parts.

2.1 Means previdalga diepnrfagrrel-lthef between thermes shaft andan"nnuierfwn surrounding said rotor ,shaft ofa turbine cone lows .of heatresistant materialcontainingwan inert gas,1said pluralityof bellowsbeingdisposed in said recesses respectively:and removable 'therefrommerelyby relative` movement of bellows andthe respective r esses, saidbellows 1when in said recesses vyieldi'nglygpermitting radial V movementof said segmentsrespectivelym L v3. Means providing a' diaphragm for thespace between the rotor shaft and an annular wall surrounding said rotorshaftof a turbine con- .structed and arranged fon operation bylelasticfluid, comprising: at least two concentric parts; "j

lost motion connection means between said parts permitting relativeradial movement therebetween; one of said parts having at least onerecess the opening of which faces toward the other of said parts;resilient means for biasing said parts radially away from each other,said biasing means including at least one hermetically sealed receptaclecontaining elastic fluid, said receptacle being disposed in said recessand removable from said recess merely by relative movement of saidreceptacle and recess, said receptacle when in said recess yieldinglypermitting relative radial movement of at least a portion of said parts;and means whereby the fluid pressure in said recess is equalized withthe fluid pressure within said annular wall at a selected side of saiddiaphragm means.

4. Means providing a diaphragm for the space between the rotor shaft andan annular wall surrounding said rotor shaft of a turbine constructedand arranged for operation by elastic fluid, said diaphragm meansincluding relatively radially movable parts, and means for yieldinglybiasing said parts radially away from each other comprising hermeticallysealed receptacle means shaft and ycoQperable with" and `movableresbectjtofsadprima? diaphragm. t .and l means for i yieldingly biasing"jaidf Se ing leans; toward "aiashaft comprising nennetieaiiy vsealedreceptacle means Lcoiiftaii ling` elastic iiul, reacting. ppstlr rallvltoward, said pnma'rv diaphragm Ineens` endlsaid sealing t t 6,'Ylbs-airis(providing a diaphfasmor the .S between the rotor shaft and,anfannular wallr roundmgsaid rotorshaftofa turbine constructed andarrangedfor operation by elastic fl1 l id, said `diaphragm meansincluding relatively radially movable parts,` and means foryieldinglybiasing said t parts radially away from each .lothen comprising apluralitypf, circumferentally spaced hermetically Sealed receptalescontaininsmilasticliiuidjindividually reacting radially oppositelytoward said parts.

7`.` Means providing adiaphlfagm for the space between the rotor shaftandfan annular wall surrounding said rotor shaft of a turbineconstrueted 4and arrangedlffor operation by elastic fiuid, "sa"iddiaphragm means including relatively Aradially movable parts, andmeans for yieldinglybiasing said partsradially awayfrom each other corn-`prising a hermetically sealed bellows containing an inert gas, reactingradially oppositely toward saidparts." 4 v l8. Means providing adiaphragm for the v space `betweenthe rotorshaftandanannular wallsurrounding said rotor shaft of a` Gurbineleons tructed and arranged foroperation by elastic lfl'uidssaid diaphragm means includingfprmaryphragm means ,Cooperable withand movable ially Iin sealingrelationwithrespect `to Vsaid .annular Wall, sealing means cooperablewith, seid shaft and coperable ,with and movable. A radially withrespect' to said primary diaphragm means,` .and means for 4- yieldingly,biasing Saidwsealing means toward `said shaft comprising a hermeticallysealed bellows of heat resistant material containing an inert gas,reacting oppositely radially toward said primary diaphragm means andsaid sealing means.

9. Means providing a diaphragm for the space t and arranged foroperation by elastic iiuid, said diaphragm means including at least twoconcentric parts, lost motion connection means between said partspermitting relative radial movement therebetween; one of said partshaving at least one recess facing an adjacent one of said parts, andmeans for yieldingly biasing' said parts radially away from each othercomprising at least one hermetically sealed receptable containingelastic fluid disposed in said recess and reactitng oppositely radiallytoward said adjacent par s.

10. Means providing a diaphragm for the space between the rotor shaftand an annular wall surrounding said rotor shaft of a turbineconstructed and arranged for operation by elastic fluid, said diaphragmmeans including primary diaphragm means cooperable with and movableradially in sealing relation with respect to said annular wall, sealingmeans including a plurality of segments forming a ring about andcooperable with said shaft and cooperable with and movable radiallyvwith respect to said primary diaphragm means,

and means for yieldingly biasing said sealing means toward said shaftcomprising a plurality of hermetically A sealed receptacles containingelastic fluid, reacting oppositely radially toward said primarydiaphragm means and said sealing i means.

11. Means providinga diaphragm for the space between the rotor shaftandan annular wall surrounding said rotor shaft of a turbine constructedand arranged for operation by elastic uid, said diaphragm meansincluding primary diaphragm meansrcooperable with and movable radiallykin sealing relation with respect to said annular wall, sealing meansincluding a plurality of segments forming a ring about and cooperablewith said shaft and cooperable with and movable radially with respect tosaid primary diaphragm means, and means for yieldingly biasing saidsealing means toward said shaft comprising a plurality of hermeticallysealed bellows of heat resistant material containing an inert gas,individually reacting radially oppositely toward said primary diaphragmmeans and said sealing means.

12. Means providing a diaphragm for the space between the rotor shaftand an annular wall surrounding said rotor shaft of a turbineconstructed and arranged for operation by elastic fluid, saiddiaphragnfrmeans including primary diaphragm means cooperable with andmovable radially in sealing relation with respect to said annular wall,said diaphragm means having a plurality of circumferentially spacedradially directed recesses, sealing means including a plurality ofsegments forming a ring about and cooperable with said shaft andcooperable with and movable radially with respect to said primarydiaphragm means, and means for yieldingly biasing said sealing meanstoward said shaft comprising a plurality of hermetically sealed bellowsof heat resistant material containing an inert gas, disposed in saidrecesses respectively and individually reacting radially oppositelytoward said primary diaphragm means and said sealing means.

13. Means providing a diaphragm for the space o between the rotor shaftand an annular wall surrounding said rotor shaft of a turbineconstructed and arranged for operation by elastic uid, said diaphragmmeans including relatively radially movable parts, means for yieldinglybiasing said parts radially away from each other comprising hermeticallysealed receptacle means containing elastic fiuid, reacting radiallyoppositely toward said parts, and means whereby the external uidpressure on said receptacle means is equalized with the fluid pressureWithin said annular wall at a selected side of said diaphragm means.

14. Means providing a diaphragm for the space between the rotor shaftand an annular wall surrounding said rotor shaft of a turbineconstructed and arranged for operation by elastic fluid, said diaphragmmeans including at least twp concentric parts, lost motion connectionmeans between said parts permitting relative radial movementtherebetween, one of said parts having at least one radially facingrecess; means for yieldingly biasing said parts radially away from eachother comprising at least one hermetically sealed receptacle containingelastic iiuid disposed in said recess and reacting radially oppositelytoward said parts, and means Whereby the uid pressure in said recess isequalized with the fluid pressure within said annular wall at a selectedside of said diaphragm means.

JAMES L. RAY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Germany of 1906

